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Essay

America the obese

America has a morbid fascination with its own bad eating habits. On any given day, you're bound to find some article somewhere on the unhealthiest meals available, complete with gut-churning, heart-stopping pictures of mountainous burgers, grease-slicked fries, and enormous burritos. My own personal favorite -- not to eat, but as a food concept -- is fried butter balls. These are frozen balls of butter coated in a cinnamon-honey batter that are deep-fried and then coated in a sugar glaze. They beat chicken-fried bacon and deep-fried Oreos any day.

Despite all the warnings, people continue to consume junk food more than ever. As a result, while models and actors get thinner and, ironically, more is known about nutrition than before, America is getting fatter. This is hardly news, but the figures are startling. In 2008, around 70 percent of adult Americans were overweight, and roughly one in three were obese. More worrying still, 17 percent of children and adolescents were obese. Even one in 20 in the U.S. military were diagnosed as obese.

Obesity has now become the second leading preventable cause of death in the United States after tobacco. According to various studies, around $150 billion (11.6 trillion yen) is spent on medical costs linked to obesity-related diseases each year. Heart disease and diabetes are just some of the physical risks associated with obesity, not to mention the psychological damage from the social stigma often unfairly associated with it. Obesity among children is of particular concern as it has such an impact on their health as an adult.

An interesting question is whether obesity is a personal or a social problem and therefore whether the government should intervene in and regulate people's diet. After all, ideally people should be allowed to eat what they want in a free society. Yet tens of billions of dollars in often false or misleading advertisements are spent each year on food, while powerful lobby groups ensure that unhealthy food remains on the table. It was the food industry that last year successfully lobbied Congress to absurdly declare pizza in school lunches a vegetable.

Moves have been made to fight what some have called an epidemic. Some states have banned sodas from schools. New York City was the first city to ban trans-fats and to insist that calorie counts be listed on all menus. First lady Michelle Obama marked the second anniversary on Feb. 9 of her "Let's Move" project to bring healthier, more affordable food to children and encourage a more active lifestyle. But is this the right approach? Its success is difficult to gauge. Meanwhile, if health is wealth, Americans are doing rather poorly.

Shukan ST: FEBRUARY 24, 2012

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Essay America the obese By Benjamin Woodward America has a morbid fascination with its own bad eating habits. On any given day, you're bound to find some article somewhere on the unhealthiest meals available, complete with gut-churning, heart-stopping pictures of mountainous burgers, grease-slicked fries, and enormous burritos. My own personal favorite -- not to eat, but as a food concept -- is fried butter balls. These are frozen balls of butter coated in a cinnamon-honey batter that are deep-fried and then coated in a sugar glaze. They beat chicken-fried bacon and deep-fried Oreos any day. Despite all the warnings, people continue to consume junk food more than ever. As a result, while models and actors get thinner and, ironically, more is known about nutrition than before, America is getting fatter. This is hardly news, but the figures are startling. In 2008, around 70 percent of adult Americans were overweight, and roughly one in three were obese. More worrying still, 17 percent of children and adolescents were obese. Even one in 20 in the U.S. military were diagnosed as obese. Obesity has now become the second leading preventable cause of death in the United States after tobacco. According to various studies, around $150 billion (11.6 trillion yen) is spent on medical costs linked to obesity-related diseases each year. Heart disease and diabetes are just some of the physical risks associated with obesity, not to mention the psychological damage from the social stigma often unfairly associated with it. Obesity among children is of particular concern as it has such an impact on their health as an adult. An interesting question is whether obesity is a personal or a social problem and therefore whether the government should intervene in and regulate people's diet. After all, ideally people should be allowed to eat what they want in a free society. Yet tens of billions of dollars in often false or misleading advertisements are spent each year on food, while powerful lobby groups ensure that unhealthy food remains on the table. It was the food industry that last year successfully lobbied Congress to absurdly declare pizza in school lunches a vegetable. Moves have been made to fight what some have called an epidemic. Some states have banned sodas from schools. New York City was the first city to ban trans-fats and to insist that calorie counts be listed on all menus. First lady Michelle Obama marked the second anniversary on Feb. 9 of her "Let's Move" project to bring healthier, more affordable food to children and encourage a more active lifestyle. But is this the right approach? Its success is difficult to gauge. Meanwhile, if health is wealth, Americans are doing rather poorly. Shukan ST: FEBRUARY 24, 2012 (C) All rights reserved